‘Inmate disturbances’ on rise under Conservatives

OTTAWA — The number of inmate disturbances in federal prisons has risen significantly on the Conservative watch, according to government figures that suggest last year’s 357 incidents marked a 12-year high.

Since the Conservatives took office there have been 840 inmate disturbances, according to figures reported in Public Accounts. During the previous six years under the Liberals, there were 482. The total cost of damages, however, has gone down. Inmate disturbances cost the government more than $1.2 million over the last six years, compared to $2.8 million during the previous six. That said, nearly half the damages recorded before the Tories took office were reported in 2001-02, the same year two major riots broke out at Drumheller and Edmonton Institutions. Also, since the government began tracking “intentional fires” two years ago, there have been 26.

Although the Correctional Service of Canada says the figures may be skewed since the government only tracked “prison riots” prior to 2005, as opposed to all disturbances which can include major and minor disruptions involving a few or many inmates, the numbers are raising questions about the government’s tough-on-criminals approach. It’s ultimately led to a “harsher” prison environment, according to Canada’s corrections investigator, who attributes rising levels of unrest to a variety of related factors.

“When you get crowding, when you get a lack of capacity for delivering programs, when you have inadequate institutional employment to keep inmates properly engaged, when you have double-bunking, then what you end up with is you inevitably end up with more tension,” Howard Sapers said in an interview.

“You end up with more use of force, you end up with more self-harm, more incidents of assault and also you see things like staff overtime and staff sick leave also escalating.”

During the Harper reign, inmates have seen their cigarettes taken away from them, the prison farm program abolished and reduced access to rehabilitation and reintegration programs. More recently, inmates were told they’d be charged more for room and board and telephone calls, while incentive pay for taking on certain prison jobs was cut. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews also announced recently that he wanted prison pizza parties and take-out nights abolished.

“It would be dangerous to base a conclusion on any one single incident like the smoking ban or closure of prison farms, but when you take in combination with other capacity issues plus the profile of the offenders themselves, offenders with more mental health issues, for example, then you begin to see how this constellation of issues comes together,” Sapers said.

“We know when we’ve looked at daily snapshots of institutions across the country, we’re not surprised to find as little as one in five inmates engaged in a corrections program on that given day. We’re not surprised to see that there’s less than 50 per cent of unemployable inmates actually engaged in prison work.”

Operational and legislative changes, Sapers said, have also impacted the Correctional Service of Canada in terms of how they handle inmates. Lock-downs, segregation, exceptional searches, use of force and pepper-spray incidents are all “trending up.” Bill C-10, the omnibus crime bill, has also altered the principles behind incarceration. Instead of managing inmates in the “least restrictive” way possible, corrections officials can now take whatever measures are deemed “necessary and proportionate.” Sapers suggested that’s pretty subjective and vulnerable to abuse.

Corrections spokeswoman Veronique Rioux said the spike in incidents is due in part to changes in the way the department defines and reports security incidents. The profile of offenders entering federal institutions has also become “more complex and diverse” in recent years, she said, adding there are more inmates associated with gangs and a growing number with substance abuse problems and anti-social behaviour who are “jeopardizing institutional safety.”

Rioux said prison violence is “not tolerated” and that disciplinary action and criminal charges are pursued when incidents arise. The department is also trying to reduce the number of violent incidents through improved supervision and infrastructure enhancements.

“We continue to work diligently towards ensuring the safety and security of our institutions. These measures include appropriate placement of offenders, search plans, drug detection equipment and ongoing training,” she said in an email.

“Professional correctional staff are trained in handling difficult situations to safely reach a timely resolution with no injuries to staff or inmates. They are trained to use, and are provided with, the necessary security equipment to ensure the safety and security in institutions.”

Incidents, she added, are reviewed and policies and practices are adjusted to “reduce future incidents.”

I cover justice, immigration and public safety issues as part of the Postmedia News politics team. I also keep tabs on what the official Opposition — the NDP — is up to in the House of Commons.
Before... read more coming here I spent several years in Montreal and Toronto with The Canadian Press covering provincial politics and major crime and court stories. I also helped cover the war in Afghanistan from inside and outside the wire.
I previously worked for the Ottawa Sun chasing crime stories and following convicts through the court system.
I love the unpredictability of my job and believe the opportunity to help document history as it unfolds is an awesome privilege that never ceases to give me chills.
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